Amore Peribat
by Clara
Summary: Akane just wanted to know if Ranma really only thought of her as an uncute, sexless tomboy. She didn't think it would end with her contracting a potentially deadly disease from a flower, but, really, she probably should have expected it.


The sound of footfalls echoed in the still morning. It was earlier than her usual run, but Akane had wanted to run out her _feelings_. She'd spent most the night tossing and turning, seething about—yet another—argument with Ranma.

 _The more things change_ , she thought bitterly to herself.

It was shaping up to be a beautiful day, but Akane didn't notice the birds slowly waking up, or the two old ladies strolling down the street arm in arm, or the loving couple smiling adoringly up at each other. Try as she might, she couldn't stop thinking about last night.

It had started off decently enough—her dad and Genma had hatched another one of their stupid plots and had somehow managed to get everyone out of the house—except for Akane and Ranma, of course. So Akane thought about doing something nice for Ranma and made him dinner—only for him to make up some BS excuse and go running into the arms (and kitchen) of one of his other fiancees.

It didn't help matters that Akane had been left with nothing but her own meal for dinner, and when she'd taken a small bite, she'd had to run off to the kitchen sink to spit it back out. It was just chicken and rice! How had she managed to screw it up so badly?

She was so caught up in her irritation and plummeting self-esteem that she didn't notice the small, bespeckled old man popping out of a storefront and directly into her path until she nearly ran him over.

"Ack," she said, stopping on a dime.

The little old man jumped back, clutching the front of his chest with both his hands. "My dear, you scared me near to death!"

"I'm so sorry." Akane bowed apologetically, then glanced at the storefront. Someone had covered the window with a magnificent drawing of a bouquet. Above the bouquet, in flowing calligraphy, were the words _Merci Bouquet_. She frowned. The last she knew, this had been a bakery. "Are you new here?"

The little old man peered up up at her assessingly. Then his face crumpled into a hearty smile. "I am indeed. You're in luck, we're having an opening sale!"

"We-ell," Akane hesitated. "Girls don't normally buy flowers for themselves."

"Nonsense," said the little old man, putting one knobby hand on her elbow. "Such a beautiful woman deserves a beautiful flower."

Akane had some doubts about her beauty at the moment—she dressed for efficiency while working out, not fashion, and she was pretty sweaty—but she allowed herself to be led into Merci Bouquet.

The store was dark and dusty, and only half-setup. One huge bouquet stood like a lonely sentinel in a glass display case. For just a split second, she remembered Ranma holding a bouquet of roses out to her.

Then she slapped both her hands to her face and shook her head. It was stupid to dwell on memories like those anyway, especially since the roses had been originally meant for _Nabiki_.

"Oh," Akane said, and crossed the room to where a potted plant was shoved carelessly in the corner. It looked a bit like an orchid, with a tall stem that was weighed down with a smattering of soft pink flowers. But the buds were like little roses and the leaves were like grape leaves, which was a little weird. She skimmed her fingers along the edge of one flower. The petals shivered in response and Akane jerked her hand back. "What sort of flower is _this_?"

The old man popped up beside her, considering the flower with shrewd eyes. "Ah, yes. The _Amore Peribat_ flower. This flower will reveal what your true love really thinks about you."

"Really?"

The old shopkeeper squinted myopically up at Akane, then glanced at the true love flowers. He turned back to Akane, all smiles again. "Yes, well, a lovely young girl like you couldn't possibly have love problems like those!" He touched her elbow, guiding her away from the _Amore Peribat_. "Let me show you these beautiful tulips…"

"Wait," said Akane, drawing away. "How does it work?"

The shopkeeper scratched his chin. "I'm not entirely sure."

Of course not. Akane sighed, shoulders slumping.

"But—I can personally guarantee its results!" the old man said, suddenly animated. "If you don't get answer in ten days, I'll refund fifty percent of the cost!"

Akane stared flatly at him. "And how much does it cost?"

"Twelve thousand yen."

"No deal."

"How silly of me to forget!" The little shopkeeper popped up in front of her, moving surprisingly fast for such an old man. "We have a special this week. The _Amore Peribat_ is only ten thousand yen."

Akane waved a dismissive hand. "Thanks, but no thanks. Good luck with your shop, and all that."

She strode back out of the store, huffing at the old man's audacity. Not even Nabiki was that bad of a swindler. She was not about to cough up ten thousand yen just to know what Ranma thought about her.

"Yo."

Akane flung up both her hands in surprise as Ranma dropped from the roof of Merci Bouquet and directly into her path.

"You _scared_ me," Akane huffed.

"The hell are you doing all the way out here, tomboy?" He peered at Merci Bouquet, then back at Akane, both eyebrows raised. "You—buyin' flowers for someone?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Akane thought she saw the shopkeeper watching them out the window, but there was no one there when she glanced over.

"Well?"

Akane turned back to Ranma. "Don't be stupid." She folded her arms over her chest. "How's Ukyo?"

"She's doing fi—" Ranma cut himself off, eyes widening, and quickly lifted his hands in self defense. "I mean, how would I know how she's doing? I told you I was training with Ryoga last night." He scowled, predictably going on the offense. "Anyway, shouldn't you be getting ready for school?"

All the anger that was boiling up at the confirmation that Ranma was at Ukyo's last night blew right out of her head when she noticed the book bag slung over Ranma's shoulder. "Oh my god, what time is it?"

Ranma grinned at her. "Ten after eight. You are so late."

* * *

She wasn't late.

She'd sprinted all the way back home, only to realize that she still thirty minutes until class started. Irritated at Ranma's prank, but equally grateful that he'd found her before school started with time to spare, she'd rushed through her morning routine and made it to class with a minute to spare. Miss Hinako had looked extremely disappointed that she wasn't able to zap Akane for being tardy, but then looked happy again when she got to zap Ranma when he snickered behind his hand at Akane.

Try as she might, she couldn't get the old man's words out of her head. She knew—she _thought_ she knew—that Ranma loved her, but he _had_ taken it back during that stupid wedding.

Absently, she rubbed her chest. She must have pushed herself too hard during her morning run. Her lungs felt a little tight.

* * *

Loathe as she was to admit it, Akane figured she did owe Ranma a 'thank you' for finding her before she was late for class. But just as she was standing from her desk, their classroom door burst open and Ukyo strode in with her electric hotplate and a big smile.

"Ranchan! Your cute fiancée has lunch for you!"

Ranma turned a brilliant smile to her. "Thanks, Ucchan!"

Akane pivoted on her heel and stomped out of the classroom.

It wasn't that she had a problem with Ranma having friends that were girls—no matter what people thought, she wasn't _that_ possessive, unlike some people she knew (she still didn't fully understand Ranma's problem with Ryoga)—but she did have a problem with the way Ukyo clung to his arm and beamed up at him like he hung the moon.

By the end of the day, Akane completely gave up on thanking Ranma and stalked off the campus. Of course, because she couldn't possibly have a moment to herself, Ranma popped up to remind her just how annoyed she was.

Ranma folded his arms behind his head, watching her out of the corner of his eye. "You're jealous, aren't ya?"

"Me? Jealous? Ha!" Akane folded her arms over her chest. "You wish, jerk."

"Look, Akane," said Ranma, turning to her and grinning smugly. "It's not like you got anything to be jealous about. You just _suck_ at cooking and then you get all psychotic when I can't eat it."

"Ran _ma_ ," Akane gritted out, then lashed out to smack his shoulder for the insult.

He danced back.

"Hey," said Akane, hand still extended.

Ranma _grinned_ at her.

Irritated, she swiped at him again, but again he danced out of the way.

Akane stepped forward. Ranma stepped back.

"Stay still," she snarled.

Ranma had the gall to laugh, but it wasn't mean or mocking. "Like you could catch me otherwise."

Akane cracked her knuckles. "Oh, you are _on_."

They raced through the familiar streets of Nemira, Ranma never letting himself get too far ahead. Akane tried making it even by kicking rocks at him as they ran, but he didn't even need to turn his head to dodge them.

They both skidded to a stop when the little old lady watering her plants on the front stoop soaked Ranma.

"Serves you right," sniffed Akane, panting slightly.

Ranma lifted an eyebrow. "Are you out of breath already? Man, you're more out of shape than I thought!"

And so the chase began again, though this time Akane had managed to get ahold of a broom and was swiping at the cackling Ranma.

She _was_ oddly out of breath by the time they got back home, but she chalked it up to at first being annoyed, then from laughter when Ranma started making stupid faces at her while they ran. Not that she was going to show it to Ranma, who followed her into the house and radiated smug satisfaction. Akane huffed. It wasn't like he'd actually won anything.

"Anyway," he said, and the tone of his voice immediately brought her hackles up. He was about to say something stupid, she could just tell. "It's probably a good thing you skipped dinner. Your hips can miss a meal or two."

The playful mood from their little chase abruptly vanished. Akane turned slowly towards him in disbelief.

"Wait—" Ranma said, eyes comically wide. Akane advanced forward.

After, Akane stared up at the new skylight with her hands on her hips. She had been so good at controlling her anger these days, but sometimes Ranma was just _asking_ for it.

* * *

Ranma's head popped out of the koi pond. She flipped her bangs out of her eyes. Dammit. Things had been going pretty good. "Me and my big mouth."

* * *

Akane was running out her feelings— _again_.

Every time she thought she moved one step forward with Ranma, _someone_ would open his fat mouth and they would take two more giant steps back. Truthfully, she was getting pretty sick of it. If only she could just know for certain how Ranma felt about her, then maybe she would know what to do.

The idea hit her like a lightning bolt and she skidded to a halt. With a determined nod, she spun around and began running again—this time, with a specific destination in mind.

"How much for the _Amore Peribat_ again?"

The shopkeeper looked over his glasses at her. He was behind the register, a newspaper spread across the counter, even though the shop still looked only half setup. "Fifteen thousand yen."

"Wait, wasn't it just ten thousand yen yesterday?"

The shopkeeper shrugged. "Sale's over."

Akane bit her lip and dug out her wallet. She'd been saving all year for Christmas gifts for her family. Oh well, she would just have to make them something this year.

"Here." She smacked the bills on the counter, rustling the newspaper.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" said the shopkeeper, even though he was already gathering up the bills.

"I need to know once and for all."

"Of course you do." The shopkeeper circled around the counter and shuffled to the potted flower, picking it carefully up. "Lucky for you, the _Amore Peribat_ is a hearty flower that requires minimal care."

Akane took the flower from him, cradling it against her chest. "I'll take good care of it."

The shopkeeper examined Akane over his glasses again. "You're a good girl. I hope this flower helps you find the answers to your questions."

* * *

Back in her room, Akane set the flower on top of some old notes. She sat across from it, resting her chin on her hand. It really was an odd chimera of a plant.

"All right, magic flower, do your thing."

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Ranma appeared upside down at her window. _Wow_ , she thought. _That was fast._

"So you've finally lost it," said Ranma, sagely. "Talking to flowers now?"

Akane threw her garbage can at him.

"Trash!" she shouted out the window.

"Uncute!" Ranma shouted back.

* * *

Breakfast was awkward. Actually, everyone else was fine—Nabiki was flipping through a magazine while her dad and Mr. Saotome were playing game #587 of go. It was mostly just Ranma, who was making stupid faces at Akane while Akane ignored him.

Akane frowned into her teacup. Maybe she should go back to Merci Bouquet and get the shopkeeper to tell her how to activate the _Amore Peribat_.

"You alright, Akane?"

"Hm?" Akane glanced up at Kasumi. Her sister was frowning at her with mild concern.

"Is your chest bothering you?" Kasumi asked.

It was then she realized she was absently rubbing her chest again.

"Maybe she's hoping to make them grow," Ranma muttered.

Akane stopped rubbing her chest to smack .him. No longer hungry, she pushed herself up and snatched her bookbag from the ground. "I'm going," she said, even though it was twenty minutes earlier than she normally left.

"Have a good day, dear," her dad said, not even looking up from his game.

Much to her irritation, Ranma followed after her, hopping nimbly onto the fence. She sighed. There went her plan to run by Merci Bouquet on the way to school. Ranma was suspicious by nature and past experience and would absolutely question why she kept going to a flower shop.

"Hey, hold up, will you?"

Akane didn't slow her pace, lifting her nose slightly to show how much she wasn't paying attention to him.

"We're not even late!" Ranma complained, then tsked in annoyance and jumped off the fence, landing in front of her.

She stopped, folding her arms over her chest. Like yesterday, she was feeling slightly out of breath. Maybe she should rub by Dr. Tofu's clinic instead of Merci Bouquet. "What do you want?"

"Look, I—" He sucked down a deep breath, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm sorry about yesterday, okay? I got carried away."

It would be easy to hold onto her anger, but Ranma looked so earnest that Akane sighed in defeat. "It's fine."

Ranma narrowed his eyes and leaned closer. "Really?"

Akane scowled. "Do you not want it to be?"

"No, no," Ranma waved his hands. "You're just givin' in awfully easy."

"We-ell, we could fight about it, if you really want," Akane teased.

Ranma held up his hands. "I'm good if you are."

"I'm good."

"Good," Ranma said.

They smiled at each other for a moment, before Akane realized they were just standing a block away from school smiling at each other and were already starting to get weird looks. "Anyway, we better get to class."

"Y-yeah," Ranma said, rubbing the back of his head.

Miss Hinako was in her adult form today and was actually giving a much more structured lecture about Romeo and Juliet, but Akane's thoughts kept wandering. There had to be a way to get the flower to make Ranma tell her his true feelings.

Unless—could it be that that was what Ranma _really_ thought about her? That she was just some uncute, sexless tomboy? Worse—did he only stay engaged to her for _honor_?

Something sharp stabbed into her chest and she doubled over, gripping her shirt with both hands. In her periphery, she saw her entire class turn to her as one, probably in anticipation of a new fun and exciting adventure from the Tendo-Saotome clan.

"Yo, Akane?" said Ranma. He sounded concerned, which would have been nice if it didn't feel like something was being ripped out of her lungs.

Akane opened her mouth to respond, but instead coughed into her fist, and a cloud of pink petals exploded from her mouth.


End file.
